A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing
by ammylouise
Summary: In which James is in denial, Albus is a Ravenclaw, Rose is her father's daughter, and Scorpius is a Hufflepuff.
1. Chapter 1

The first time James Sirius Potter noticed that Theodore Remus Lupin was quite the looker was when he was fifteen. It was the Easter holidays of his fourth year at Hogwarts, and his mother had banished him from the house after an incident involving a Niffler, Albus' bedroom and a rather large container of pink glitter. Everyone knew that he'd floo Teddy - despite their age gap, they were far closer than James and Al, and after graduating Teddy had promised James he was welcome in his flat whenever. When he arrived, the flat was empty, but he knew Teddy was most likely at training, and would get home soon enough. He'd settled down on the lounge, a packet of crisps filched from the kitchen pantry in hand and turned on the telly. It was a Muggle channel, with some sort of disc they kept spinning around. People were getting rather excited, jumping up and down as it finished spinning.

"Mad. Bloody mad," James muttered, snacking on another crisp.

"Yes, Jamie, you are," Teddy said drily, stepping out of his fireplace.

"Must you call me that?" the younger boy huffed. It was a nickname for a firstie, not a fourth year.

"Must you sit on my lounge and eat my food?" Teddy countered. James swivelled to look at him for the first time; he was soaked through, his hair so muddy only flashes of blue were visible.

"Well, you know, I thought that I'd be welcome here. You don't eat those anyway, what with your special diet and all," James crossed his arms across his chest and looked younger, much younger, to the point that Teddy shook his head, stomping a bit of the mud off his boots.

"Snarky tonight, aren't you? I'd prefer you ate the chocolate though, I had enough of Pomfrey shoving it down my throat every time I broke a bone at Hogwarts," Teddy grinned, and even through the mud, it lit up the room. "I need to shower, and get these washed, then we can watch tonight's match, alright? Think about what you want for dinner, there's a pile of take out menus on the bench."

He got an enthusiastic nod in response, and traipsed out of the room. The show changed, to that of the muggle news, which James found significantly more sensible and therefore rather boring. He took the opportunity to glance over the take out menus, settling on Thai.

"Buggering fuck – James, a little help?"

James made his way to the source of the sound, which turned out to be Teddy in the laundry – the very Muggle laundry – entangled in his Quidditch robes, his hands above his head in a way that was slightly – well, very – comical. What made his laughter die in his throat, though, was the way Teddy's defined muscles twisted and strained as he tried to right himself. He licked his suddenly dry lips, long fingers sliding inside the fabric to tug Teddy's head free. His breath hitched in his throat again when Teddy grinned at him, twisting to remove his arms from the tangle of fabric.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem," James muttered, determinedly looking at the washing machine which sat beside them. "Why do you even bother with muggle appliances? Wouldn't spells be easier?"

Teddy laughed and tossed the robes in the washing machine, now decidedly bare-chested, wearing just his trousers and boots. "Ever tried to scourgify quidditch robes, Jamie? The mud gets in so deep that trying it destroys the fabric," he bent down to empty detergent into the machine, and James concentrated very hard on the cracked window over Teddy's back.

Straightening, Teddy cringed. "Urgh, mud in my toes. I still need to shower," he slipped past James, which made him uncomfortably aware of how close they were. "When you decide on what you want for dinner, just knock on the bathroom door, yeah? I'll be able to tell you what I want without a menu."

Before James had a chance to respond, Teddy had clattered down the hallway, leaving a trail of mud behind him, and he slumped against the dusty wall of the laundry.

Talk to Teddy.

While he was in the shower.

While he was in the shower, naked.

While James was aware of just how tight these bloody Muggle jeans were.

Which was perfectly normal, right? He got hard in History of Magic class not long before the holidays. Completely normal. He was a fifteen year old boy, after all, and the Talk that his mother had given he and Al last year, full of stuttered comments and slack-jawed stares, had said something of the sort. It was a complete coincidence that Teddy shirtless and bending over and flexing and...

Merlin, Teddy was _fit._

He'd known that somewhere in the back of his head for some time. He was a professional Quidditch player, for the gods' sake. Of course he was fit! But the abstract thought of "Hmm, Teddy is able to fly around for several hours, he'd certainly be able to take me in a fight if he wanted" and "Wow, Teddy is stretching and moving and _shirtless_ less than a foot away from my face" were two completely different ideas.

"Fuck," James muttered, banging his head on the wall behind him. He swallowed hard, stumbling his way to the kitchen to ponder the thought of Thai some more.

- - -

That encounter failed to convince James that he was interested in men. It was just _Teddy_, Teddy who'd been there since the day he was born, who he followed around like a little boy lost, who he did not have a crush on. He just... it was Teddy.

But he could not un-notice how attractive his god brother was. As somewhat of a (horrible) compromise, he instead decided to simply notice how attractive other people were in more obvious ways.

He chose to go through with this plan by picking up a girl in the year above him, Rachel. She was a Gryffindor too; a bit of fun, helped him tease his shit of a Ravenclaw little brother and got on with Lily. They dated, on and off, from the start of James' fifth year, seemed as serious as a sixteen year old could manage in a relationship; yet he didn't mention her to his family, at all. Albus and Lily told their cousins and aunts and uncles at length about Jamie's girlfriend, with honey blonde hair and pretty blue eyes, but they'd been spewing such things since before Albus joined James at Hogwarts, so the gossip had been waved off without a word.

In fact, the first anyone outside of Hogwarts saw of Rachel Holland was Teddy, in Hogsmeade one weekend. The pair of them had walked into the Three Broomsticks, and James had immediately spotted the flash of bright blue hair in the corner of his eye.

"Teddy?" James gasped, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his fringe.

"James!" Teddy turned, Butterbeer in hand, grinning widely. His eyes fell on Rachel beside his god brother, and he blinked a few times, confused. "Oh, hullo. Am I... Oh, bugger. I'm sorry, I should have owled you, Jamie."

Rachel smiled, hooking a lock of hair behind her ear. "No, no. I'm Rachel Holland, a... uh..." she glanced sideways at James, subtly moving away. "A friend of James'. You're a Falcon, right?"

"Um, yes. I am," Teddy shook his head. "But it's quite obvious from the way you look at him you aren't just his friend," his easy smile returned, and he drained his pitcher, standing up. "I don't want to interrupt your date. I'll owl you next time I'm nearby, James."

"Wait! Teddy, no. How long have you spent waiting?" James said, suddenly finding his voice once more. Something flashed across Rachel's face, but he was too intent on Teddy to notice.

"Don't be a daft git, James. You're on a date. Come visit me during Christmas hols, yeah?" Teddy waved a hand and grabbed a handful of floo powder from the mantle, shaking his head. "Have a good one. Nice to meet you, Rachel."

"So that's your god brother, eh? You never told me he was that cute, James," Rachel joked, the edge on her voice barely obvious as James watched the blue hair disappear into the fireplace. He coughed, uncomfortable, and turned back to her with a pale imitation of his normal smile.

"Let's go to Zonko's instead. I need more itching powder. Oh, and Honeyduke's. Feel like some Sugar Quills?"

She was looking at him with brows furrowed, but agreed.

- - -

_Teddy,_

_If you had told me you were coming -_

James sighed, and screwed up his fifth piece of parchment. His method of distracting himself became obvious when his eyes fell on Rose, across the common room, idly charming a paper crane to swoop around her head. Lobbing the parchment towards her, he gaped when she grabbed it, not taking her eyes off the crane, and unscrewed it.

"Why're you writing to Teddy?" she asked, setting the crane down in James' hair. Grumpily, he batted it away, fixing his cousin with a scary approximation of his mother's glare.

"He was in Hogsmeade today," was all he offered, dunking his quill violently into the inkwell.

Her face lit up. "Ooooh, was he? We could have had lunch!"

He snorted. "You were too busy letting Malfoy paw you in the Room of Requirement," he pointed out, and was rewarded with a flush as red as her hair. Flicking her wand, he squawked unhappily as the crane pecked at James' hair more painfully than paper should be able to.

"What's got into you lately, James? You're acting like you were the one who had a prefect badge shoved down their throat."

He made a non-committal grunt and started to write once more.

_Teddy,_

_I miss you._

James groaned and pointed his wand at the parchment. "Incendio," he muttered, brushing away the ash that remained in front of him. Saying that would do no good, it would just make him sound like a bloody girl, a ponce. The fact it was true had no bearing or relevance to his current frame of mind whatsoever.

"Speaking of prefect," he said, glad to divert the subject. "Aren't you meant to be on rounds right now?"

Rose gave a careless shrug. "Scorpius is doing them for me."

His mouth curved into a lewd grin. "So you let him do more than just paw you..."

"He _likes_ rounds!" she said defensively. "Besides, if you weren't so uptight about _pawing_ people, perhaps things would be better with you and Rachel."

"Excuse me?"

He didn't realise he was standing over his cousin, wand in hand, until it was too late. Sighing, he stepped back, wondering precisely when his temper had got so short.

"What do you mean, Rose?" he asked, wearily.

"Nothing," she responded, far too quickly.

"Rose, if you don't tell me, I'll send your father a Howler with the details of your love life," a low blow, perhaps, but it got her on her feet, brown eyes blazing.

"You're an insufferable prat, James Potter," she spat, hands on hips. "You're uptight and narrow minded and your head is so far up your own arse that you can't see the truth. You go see your brother, hmm? Maybe the Map can help you with the fact you can't string a sentence together when it comes to Theodore Lupin."

She stomped off to the girl's dormitory, leaving James groping for the shrunken mirror in his pocket. Tapping it once, he snarled "Albus!" at his reflection. A few sickening moments of grunting later, Albus' face popped up in the mirror, hair far too unruly for James to have caught him at a good time.

"For Merlin's sake, you have the worst timing in history," Albus snapped.

"Oh, shut up, you shit, you have a different girl there every week, it's impossibly to have good timing. I need the Map,"

"...The Map? Are you planning something I should know about?"

James ground his teeth. "If you don't meet me in the Great Hall in ten minutes, I will be," he threatened.

"Right then. The Map. Ten minutes. Got it."


	2. Chapter 2

Two hours later, far past curfew, so far past that even if he had been a seventh year who was studying instead of a sixth year who was brooding he would have copped a detention, James was sitting in the dungeons. He idly stirred the cauldron in front of him, a disillusionment charm cloaking the cauldron as he added a couple of doxy wings, stirring it as it changed from golden to bright blue.

Like bloody Teddy Lupin's bloody hair.

James scowled, jabbing at the potion with his wand. It instantly changed once more, to a silvery colour. His shoulders sagged and he bent over the cauldron further, a resigned sigh passing through his lips, ripples forming on the surface of the liquid.

"James?"

His head whipped around so fast that he heard his neck crack; biting back a curse, he rubbed at the back of his neck under the cloak. He glared at his cousin, hating the fact she knew him better than his brother, that she was staring right at him, even under the cloak, hating that she was right. Again. Stupid bloody Granger blood.

"If you don't take off the cloak I'm going to walk through this room until I upset your cauldron and you're just going to get angry at me," the red head said practically, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Here," he said, weaker than he imagined, pushing his cloak to his shoulders. Unperturbed by the sight of her cousin's disembodied head, she sighed, crossing the room to loop an arm around James' shoulders, settling down next to him.

"I'm sorry," she said simply.

James laughed bitterly, more grateful than he'd admit for the simple touch. He leant against Rose, his head resting on hers. "How long did you know?"

"I didn't," she admitted, her brown eyes softer in the dark dungeon than he thinks he'd ever seen them. Rose is so sharp, normally, her father's daughter, no tact or thoughts for the consequences or anything of the sort. "I wasn't sure. I was just so sick of suspecting, and Al wouldn't give me the Map."

James' laugh was bitter enough to have come from a hardened war veteran. "You know who she was with?" he asked, his eyes unfocused.

"James..."

"Zabini. Fucking Harley goddamn Zabini. What self respecting Gryffindor would let a Slytherin put their slimy hands up their skirt?"

"I think you're missing the part where no self respecting person cheats," Rose pointed out, rather sensibly she thought, but James made a strangled sort of sound that made her rethink her tactics. "I can knock him off his broom at the next match," she offered.

"You've already played Slytherin this year," he pointed out miserably.

"I didn't say I'd be playing," Rose grinned, and James made a sort of hiccoughing sound. She rubbed at his shoulder, leaning up to kiss his messy black hair. "Let's go up to the Tower. We can figure out how the Potter-Weasley-Malfoy alliance can make their lives hell tomorrow."

"Scorpius is in on this?" James glared at her and got only a shrug in return.

"He told me he'd seen a disembodied foot on his rounds earlier," she leant back, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Thought I'd give you some time to wallow in self pity before I came to drag you back up to the Tower," she glanced around, wrinkling her nose. "Why you'd want to wallow here is beyond me."

"Only place I could find that looked worse than I felt," James replied drily. "Besides, if I brew potions in the dorm the lads give me hell about being a snake."

Rose rolled her eyes as her cousin stood, still seemingly without a body. "Put the cloak away. If a teacher catches us I'll say you had a turn and I was worried about your welfare."

He gave her a look of genuine admiration. "How did you land a prefect position again?" he asked, sweeping off his cloak and shrinking down his potions kit.

"Seven outstandings and fantastic tits," she dead panned, and got a shove in response. It made her smile. If she could get a rise out of him that easily, she'd made some progress tonight.

- - -

Safe back in Gryffindor Tower, having successfully avoiding Filch and Mrs Doubtfire, James was surprised to see his fourteen year old sister awake. He fixed his glare on her, arms across his chest.

"Go to bed, Lily," he said, without preamble.

"Good to see you too, James, I was worried about you, y'know," Lily tossed her hair and narrowed her eyes. "Have you told him yet, Rose?"

His head snapped around to look at his cousin, cracking it once more. Both girls winced in sympathy as tears sprung to his eyes and he rubbed at it for the second time that night.

"Fuck, I have got to stop doing that," James muttered. "Tell me what?"

"No, I haven't," Rose said, at the same time Lily responded with "Swear jar, Jamie."

He held up a finger to Rose, turned to Lily, and held up an entirely different finger, before turning back to his cousin. "Tell me what?" he repeated.

Rose sighed, flopping down into the overstuffed arm chair. "Sit down, James."

For a reason he couldn't truly explain – perhaps it was the tone of voice that sounded so like Aunt Hermione – he obeyed, sitting opposite her. Lily followed seat, enjoying ignoring her brother once more.

"How are you and Teddy?" Rose asked, looking at him in a way that made him wish he was under the invisibility cloak again.

"Teddy and I? Fine. Why? What's wrong with Teddy? Is he angry at me?" he spluttered a little, before calming. "Why was he in Hogsmeade?"

He got given a smirk that made him even more uncomfortable, but then she spoke.

"Teddy's quite attractive, don't you think, Lil?"

"Oooh, yes," Lily said happily, perching on the arm of chair her brother inhabited.

"Oi, that's our god brother you're talking about," he said indignantly.

"We're not related," Lily pointed out. "No different to when he was dating Victoire."

"Well, I suppose, but... wait, when?"

Rose sighed. "She's moving to Egypt, following her father's footsteps," she said quietly, picking at her jeans. "And didn't even ask if he wanted to come with her. Said that she didn't think anything would come of it."

There was silence as Lily and Rose exchanged a look which James couldn't decipher. He scuffed at the stone underneath his foot, and shrugged after a time.

"I'm sorry for him. Being dumped sucks. But..." he raised his head to look at his cousin. He went to open his mouth once more but just shook his head, standing and leaving for his dorm silently.

- - -

Albus' birthday was celebrated during the Christmas holidays, having fallen only days before. For Lily and Hugo and Al, it involved a day of flying with their family, eating copious amounts of food, and causing general amounts of mayhem only days before Christmas. For James and Teddy and Rose, it involved hiding in the lounge room, passing around a bottle of Firewhiskey which James had at some stage convinced Rosmerta to sell him, despite being under aged.

In all honesty, Teddy felt a bit pathetic, drinking with a pair of sixteen year olds. Mind you, he also felt a bit pathetic for having been dumped by his girlfriend as she "didn't think the relationship was going anywhere" and had taken that bloody position in bloody Egypt. Who hired a twenty-two year old girl to work in the desert, for Circe's sake? She'd enjoy it there, certainly, but the whole fiasco left him feeling all a bit sorry for himself. Five years, on and off, and nothing to show for it. Well, except for the ridiculously expensive diamond which now sat buried in his sock drawer, never to be used.

The thought made him want to vomit.

Sighing, Teddy leant back against the armchair, his eyes falling on his two cousins. One had found his girlfriend in a broom closet, snogging a Slytherin – as personal an affront as could be made against him – and the other simply had inherited her Uncle Charlie's taste for Ogden's Old. The way she was giggling as she stared at the roof made him think she'd also inherited her Uncle Bill's taste for home rolled cigarettes. James, by contrast, was draped across an armchair, mumbling songs that had too many words like "hedgehog" and "knob" to be real. A smile, not reaching his eyes but still genuine, passed over his face, and he got to his feet.

"Alright there, Rosie?" he asked, standing over the red head, who beamed back at him.

"Brilliant," she said happily. "Y'know, Teddy, you're really pretty. Your hair matches the ceiling."

He risked a glance at the ceiling; it was a dull grey colour. Suppressing a grin, and perhaps stumbling a little, he made his way over to James. Perching himself on the arm of the chair the younger boy had chosen to occupy, he gripped at the material tightly, determined not to fall. Older, and with more muscle than his cousins, he wasn't quite as drunk, but it certainly made things a lot more interesting.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeere has all the custard gone?" James sang, plaintively. "The jelly is not the same."

Teddy blinked. And again. And a third time. Then he shook his head, deciding that there were no words to describe his god brother at this time, and poked him in the side. The jump and squawk which he got in response was quite entertaining, though did result in a death glare through a shaggy, dark fringe.

"Bastard," James growled, and it did something funny to Teddy's stomach, which he attributed to the alcohol.

"Not quite. My parents were married when Dad got her up the duff," he responded, with forced cheerfulness. "Let's get you to bed, yeah?"

James considered this for a moment, before pulling himself in a half sitting position. "You make a compelling argument."

Unable to hold back a snort, Teddy looped his arm underneath James', hauling him to his feet. "Alright there?"

"Ummm," James looked carefully at his feet, as if they were foreign objects. "Perhaps."

"C'mon, here we go," Teddy said, in a manner he thought was encouraging. The walk up the stairs was a struggle, and on the fifth one, James fell heavily on Teddy, pressing him up against the wall. James did not seem overly perturbed by this occurrence, but in Teddy's mind, James was a lot heavier than he looked when his body was all floppy and loose. And the way he was peering up at him was not exactly putting him at ease. Teddy frowned, trying to push him away, but James seemed to have other ideas.

"Teddy, y'know, you're quite fit," he said, as seriously as one could manage with the distinct smell of Firewhiskey on one's breath.

"I should hope so," Teddy replied tartly. "What with all that training I do. Would be horrified if it meant I was morbidly obese."

"No, really fit," James muttered. "Far too bloody fit for your own good."

Teddy stared back at him, shoving him hard on the shoulders. The dark haired boy stumbled and Teddy caught him; a flash of guilt crossed his mind before he started hauling him up the stairs further. James was muttering in a way that Teddy tried to keep out of his mind, pushing him through the door into his own bedroom. James took a hold of Teddy's t-shirt as he stumbled, dragging him down onto the bed. A sigh – neither of them was sure from which of them – was the only sound in the room as they stared at one another.

Teddy noticed, for the first time, that while James had the scruffy hair which was unmistakably Harry's, he looked far more like his mother. His eyes, the curve of his neck, that smile when he knew he was up to something... that was the Weasley blood shining through. He also noticed that James was smiling that smile, and he could smell Firewhiskey, and that was his cue to leave.

"Sleep well, Jamie," he breathed, standing and leaving the younger man lying, fully dressed, on his bed.

James didn't bother undressing, just threw his doona over himself, trying to ignore the fact he had quite enjoyed pinning Teddy to the wall, and the way his voice had run a bolt of electricity down his spine.


	3. Chapter 3

James was back at Hogwarts when he had his birthday - his coming of age, in fact. In all truth, he hadn't been looking forward to it in the way Al had eagerly awaited his sixteenth, but he suspected that had something more to do with the mixture of being single and the niggling feeling that something had gone horribly, horribly wrong over the holidays. Teddy had avoided him since Al's party, choosing to avoid the Potter residence and when he was around, talking to his parents rather than James. It was a disquiet feeling, one of being outgrown and left behind, and it was the reason that when he woke up on the twelfth of January, he was more ready to deck his sister for bouncing on his bed than open presents.

"Piss off, Lil," James snarled, dragging the pillow over his head.

"You know, there's this tactic called 'being nice to your family' you might want to try some time," that was Louis, Victoire's younger brother and Ravenclaw Head Boy Extraordinaire, an amused lilt to his voice. James just sighed, burrowing further into his bed. If Louis was there, it meant Al, Rose, Lucy, Hugo and Molly all were too. He supposed it was a good thing Dominique, Fred and Roxanne were all too young to be at Hogwarts yet, because they wouldn't all fit in the dorm.

"Bloody hell, Potter, can you open your damn presents so we can get some more sleep?" Todd MacMillan chimed in from his own bed. "Look, there's even some from us."

Groaning, James faced the grinning faces of his family for the first time as an of age wizard. It didn't make it any better.

"Happy Birthday, Jamie," Lily crowed, shoving a present wrapped messily in gold paper in his face.

"Don't call me that," he said automatically, but took the present and unwrapped it. A set of dress robes spilled onto the bed, impossibly soft, deep golds in colour. He picked at them, rubbing the material between his fingers, trying not to look too awestruck at such a girly present.

"From Lil and I, since you didn't bother to look at the card," Rose said calmly, from her spot leaning on one of the uprights. James reddened, and gave her a two fingered salute, which was returned, with feeling. Hiding a grin, he went back to unwrapping presents. A book from Louis - James had to bite back a snicker - a new potion set from Al, a scarf Lucy knitted herself. Coming to the small package from his parents, he paused, worried. He unwrapped a dull silver pocket watch; when he turned it over, a double P was inscribed on the back. Frowning, he picked up the parchment that had also fallen out.

_James,_

_I'm sure you were expecting a new watch from us, because you know how hideously traditional we can be, but we thought this was a better fit. You see, this was in Sirius Black's possessions that were confiscated by the Ministry. It was given to him by your grandfather - the Ps stand for Prongs and Padfoot, as they called themselves at school. You should ask your father to tell you their story when you're home. It's quite extraordinary._

_Happy Birthday, James Sirius. _

_Love,_

_Mum._

_- - -_

"James."

The second time James and Teddy met in Hogsmeade, it was carefully planned, three days after James' birthday. Teddy was sitting at the same bloody seat, his hair the pale blue it returned to when he was worried. James, too, was more reserved than normal, standing back a few steps rather than greeting him like he normally would.

"Hey," he said tentatively, slipping onto the stool next to him at the bar, signalling for a Butterbeer.

"Happy birthday," Teddy said, the smile that normally came so easily to him seeming forced. "Before I give you your present, I wanted to apologise."

James made a non-committal "Hmm," sound and tried not to look like he was hanging on to Teddy's every word.

"Right. Well," Teddy cleared his throat and stared at the bar, making patterns in a puddle of Butterbeer. "I shouldn't have avoided you like that, but I was avoiding everyone."

"Not my parents," James pointed out.

"That's because I had to tell someone," Teddy took a deep breath. "On top of the fact that I was dumped for bloody Egypt, I now have a rather expensive ring for Victoire rotting in my sock drawer."

"You were going to ask her to marry you?" he spluttered in response. "You never mentioned that!"

"We had been dating for five years. I'd be pretty horrible if I hadn't considered it."

"Considering and buying a ring are kind of different," James retorted, and bit his tongue, contrite. "I'm sorry. Just... wish you woulda told me."

"Was going to at Christmas. Instead I got dumped and we got pissed," Teddy shrugged and pushed a rectangular package across the bar. "Happy Birthday, Jamie."

Rolling his eyes at the nickname, he unwrapped the present, his eyes widening when several thick golden rectangles slid out. The first read "Entry to All Preliminary World Cup Games", the second "All Access Pass for English Dressing Rooms" and the final "Box Entry for World Cup Final." James raised his head, the link between his brain and his lips effectively severed as he opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to think of what to say.

"Do you like it?" Teddy asked, more anxious than James had ever seen him. "I mean, you weren't just coming along to Quidditch matches for my benefit, were you?"

"Teddy, this is _amazing!_" James finally managed to remember that his lips were used for speaking. "This is... this is too much! You shouldn't have spent this much on me!"

He just got a shake of the head and a sigh of relief in return.

"Are you joking? Jamie, you're one of my best friends. You just came of age. You deserve more than this."

"You bought me a box at the Quidditch Cup final!" the last word came out as more of a squeak than an actual word.

"Well, you have to share it with me, and your family," Teddy pointed out, with that natural grin that was more infectious than James cared to admit.

"But Teddy!" James protested, and Teddy rolled his eyes.

"Don't make me stuff a block of Honeydukes in your mouth to shut you the bloody hell up," he threatened. "Finish your Butterbeer, it's too warm in here."

James snorted and drained his pitcher. "Alright then."

They wandered through Hogsmeade, their conversation easier now they had moved on from the topic of Victoire, eventually finding their way to the hill by the Shrieking Shack. Teddy smiled, not his grin, but a sadder, softer smile, and tapped the snow beneath a tree with his wand, murmuring under his breath. James frowned and raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do?" he asked, watching with narrowed eyes as Teddy settled himself to the ground, leaning back on the tree.

"Cushioning and warming charms," he replied, his eyes fixed on the Shack. James shrugged and sat down beside him, following his gaze.

"That was where your dad went every month, isn't it?" James asked quietly.

"Yeah," Teddy sighed, and they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. James' eyes followed a snowflake as it drifted from a branch down to the ground, a lump in his throat from the heavy feeling that filled the air. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand, threading his fingers through Teddy's, squeezing his god brother's hand. Teddy looked up, surprised, and then relaxed, taking his hand to wrap around James' shoulders, pulling him in close.

"I don't think it's fair, you know? That he suffered through every month in so much pain, and I... I barely have to. Yes, I'm kind of nuts at the full moon, but I don't transform, I don't go through such back breaking pain," Teddy murmured into James' hair, a note of sadness in his voice James had never heard before.

"He didn't deserve the pain, Teddy, but neither do you," James replied, stroking at Teddy's knee softly. Silence fell over them once more, and James pretended not to notice the tears that fell onto the back of his neck.

- - -

"Get the fuck away from me," James snarled.

"James..."

"I have nothing to say to you, Rachel, leave me alone!" he turned on his heel, but she grabbed at his wrist, trying to pull him back.

"I want to apologise," Rachel said quietly, chewing at her lip.

"Words. Just words. Nothing is going to make it better. You can't take back the fact that you were off shagging Harley Zabini and Merlin knows who else in abandoned Charms classrooms!" he spat, yanking his hand out of her grip.

"No, it doesn't, but it doesn't mean I need itching powder in my bed and my shampoo having bleach added to it!" Rachel said, her voice splintering with anger.

"Oh, that's what this is about? I didn't do it, I can't stop it," James rolled his eyes. "I can't even get into your dorm, or did you forget that small fact?"

"It's your nutbag relatives!"

"Nutbags?" he spluttered.

"Nice, Holland. I love you too," Rose seemed to appear from nowhere, when in fact she had been leaning against the wall the entire time, arms crossed across her chest.

"You! You crazy bint!" Rachel pointed at her. "You crazy _Weasley_ slut!"

"Careful who you're calling a slut. I've had a boyfriend for the last year and a half, and haven't felt the need to spread my legs to the entire Quidditch team," Rose pointed out mildly. "And Weasley isn't an insult round these parts. We're in Gryffindor. A Weasley has probably slept in your bed."

Rachel opened and closed her mouth, and James rolled his eyes. "Come on, Rose. Let's take our nutbag genes and go to dinner," he said, extending an arm. Rose grinned, and linked their arms together like when they were kids, dragging him to the portrait hole.

"Oh, and, Holland? You really thought James would stop me torturing you?" Rose paused and looked over her shoulder with a chuckle. "Well, I can see why you weren't sorted into Ravenclaw."

- - -

"Shouldn't you be studying, Mr O.W.L. Student?" James poked his brother, who was draped over a chair in the library. James himself was writing a Potions essay, despite the fact he had both a Defence and a Transfiguration essay due beforehand, and should therefore be tackled first. Albus snorted, and pointed at the blue and bronze at his tie, leafing through his copy of _Which Broomstick?_

"Little Ravenclaw shit," he muttered darkly. "I'm not even in an exam year!"

"At least I'm not in Slytherin. I thought Uncle Ron was going to pop a vein when he found out," Albus pointed out with a grin. "The new Nimbus looks good, but the Cleansweep has better breaking. What do you think?"

"Ask Teddy," James replied absently. His mind was taken with antidotes and the manner in which they are brewed, sucking on his quill as Albus started chattering about turning and acceleration speed and things that held no real interest to James.

_While the antidotes to specific ingredients must be considered, the meta-antidote must also..._

"James? James Potter?" an unfamiliar voice asked, and James' brows knitted together, raising his head to look at a blonde haired boy. He looked vaguely familiar, but James couldn't put a name to the rather pretty face.

"Um, yes?" James blinked a few times.

"I was just," the blonde wetted his lips, his eyes darting across to Albus, who was absorbed in his magazine. "I was just wanted to know, um. Would you like to go to Hogsmeade next weekend?"

James' eyebrows shot up into his fringe and Albus' chair tipped backwards, hitting the floor with a clatter. He swallowed hard, wondering exactly why he'd not spluttered out a "No" immediately, and tilted his head to the side. The blonde was blushing a little, but his chin was held up in defiance, refusing to look down from James' brown gaze.

"Sure," James heard himself say, and tried to ignore Albus' gasps from floor level. "I'm sorry, this is probably horribly rude, but what is your name?"

"Gabriel, but please call me Gabe," Gabe said, the relief evident in his voice. "I'll... uh... meet you at the Three Broomsticks at eleven, then?"

"Sounds good," James nodded. "Wait... you're Rose's Potions partner, aren't you?"

Gabe nodded, and gave him a grin before walking off, a slight spring in his step. Albus clambered back up to the desk and stared at his brother, his green eyes wide.

"_This_ is how you come out to me?" Albus snapped. "Really, James?"

James groaned and dropped his head to the desk. "I am going to _kill _Rose," he mumbled into his Potions essay.


	4. Chapter 4

"ROSE NYMPHADORA WEASLEY!"

Rose snickered. "Knight to F6," she directed, taking Lily's bishop.

"You convinced Gabe to ask him out, didn't you?" Lily grinned. "Queen to A8."

"Convinced him to take a mouthful of Felix first, too," Rose smirked. "Bishop to A8."

Lily sighed and narrowed her eyes at the board. "I need your dad to teach me to play Wizard's Chess," she tipped her King over in defeat, which made Rose pout, as she couldn't use her favourite checkmate. "Where did you get Felix Felicis?"

"Remember James' extra credit project for his OWL Potions class?" Rose couldn't wipe the smirk off of her face.

"You terrify me sometimes," Lily said conversationally, sweeping her pieces into a silk bag.

Rose patted her cousin's arm. "I terrify myself sometimes."

"ROSE!"

"Hullo, James," Rose looked up at her dark-haired cousin, as Lily took the opportunity to flee. "Have you had a productive time in the library? How are your Defence and Transfiguration essays coming along?"

"You should have been sorted into Slytherin," James announced, his hair messier than normal. "What did you do to me? Did you confound me?"

"I did no such thing," she said indignantly, placing her chess pieces into their case. "Things are simply going as nature intended them."

"I don't like men!" he said, slightly desperately. "I like girls!"

"James," she sighed, but made the effort to speak slowly, patiently. "How long were you and Rachel dating?"

"Just over a year," James responded, a suspicious edge to his voice.

"How far did you go?"

"Excuse me?" he spluttered. "Please don't tell me you are asking about my sex life. This is a bad dream. It's bad enough when I walk in on you and Scorpius in the bloody dungeons."

"No, I'm asking about your lack of sex life," Rose grinned, but shook her head. "That's not important. Give Gabe a chance. He's a nice guy, and I think you'll like him."

He scowled at her before sighing, his shoulders sagging. "Well, it's not like I can take it back, now," he leant back against the wall, fixing her with a look. "What do you _do _on a date with a bloke, anyway?"

"Madame Puddifoots?" she said innocently, expecting the smack that came to the spot where the back of her head had been a few seconds earlier.

"Rose. You got me into this mess..." he let the threat hang, unsaid, in the air.

"How do you know that?"

He gave her a look. "You're within a thousand yards of it," he replied. "What does he like, anyway?"

"Looking to impress him?" Rose snickered, and ducked another violent swing of his arm. "Well. Do what you and Teddy do together."

"Teddy and I don't go on [i]_dates[/i]_," he muttered darkly.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but settled on "I know. But you guys are relaxed around each other. Just get to know each other."

James groaned. "This is a mess," he muttered. "This is a horrible, twisted mess."

- - -

"Not into Quidditch?" Gabe bent over to take a shot in pool and James was suddenly was very interested in the depths of his Butterbeer. "Not like your brother, then."

"Or my god brother," he drained his mug and didn't flinch as his and Gabe's fingers brushed when he took the cue.

"Lupin, right?" Gabe leant back on his elbows. "Plays Beater?"

"Yeah. Flew as a reserve for England this year," he glanced up and noticed the odd look on the blonde's face. "What? You looking at my arse or something?"

"Wasn't, but if you're going to bring it up..." Gabe's look vanished, replaced by a leer which quickly dissolved into laughter. James rolled his eyes but couldn't help but laugh too, bopping Gabe on the head with the cue.

"I'll go get us some more Butterbeer," he offered, getting only a distracted nod in return. As he ambled up to the bar, he couldn't suppress the smile that curled at his lips. This had been one of the better first dates he'd been on, all in all. The awkwardness, surprisingly, had come that they only knew each other through Rose rather than the fact they were both men. He'd taken Rose's advice, actually, and tried to treat him like Teddy. Just like a mate. And Gabe was unreasonably easy to get along with. He was probably the wittiest Hufflepuff he'd ever met, and the nervousness had dissolved completely between the awkwardness in the library and when he'd walked into the Three Broomsticks. It was nice.

"You've lost, Potter," Gabe gestured to the pool table, where five of James' balls remained alone.

"How do I know you didn't cheat while my back was turned? And you sound bloody weird calling me Potter," James set the pitchers on the table, running a careful eye over the green felt.

"I'm a Hufflepuff, we don't lie," Gabe's mock innocence was priceless. "And yeah, I do, don't I... James."

"You forget I've met Scorpius Malfoy," James pointed out.

"Point to Gryffindor," Gabe conceded, glancing at his watch. "Ugh. It's getting late."

"Got someone else lined up, eh?" James tried for 'light and joking' but got the distinct impression he failed rather horribly.

"Most decidedly not," the intensity of Gabe's gaze made James look down at his Butterbeer once more. "What about you?"

James stood abruptly. "No," his tone was sharper than he intended. "Let's go, yeah?"

"But you-" Gabe caught sight of James' flahing brown eyes, so like Rose's, and wisely shut up, nodding. He followed James out of the pub, and down the main street, before he veered unexpectedly into an alley, which was distinctly not in the direction of school.

"James, I'm sorry. I don't know what I said, but I didn't mean to make you angry," Gabe said softly, sliding down the alley to lean on the bricks next to him.

"I-It's not you," James mumbled, refusing to look Gabe in the eye.

"What is it, then?" Gabe's tone was insistent rather than angry.

James exhaled softly. "How did you know?"

Gabe seriously considered acting obtuse, as this was not a fun conversation and the date had gone so well until this moment, but the Hufflepuff side of his brain won out. "Girls never interested me. Not when I was five and the kids at school played catch and kiss, not when I was eleven, not when I was fourteen and Scorpius discovered soft porn magazines, not when for my last birthday Scorp tried to set me up with Harriet from Ravenclaw. I never really... came out, so to speak, because there was nothing to admit. Nothing changed. And people figure it out, eventually."

James' lips quirked into a smile. "Especially when you ask them out in front of their little brothers?"

Gabe let out a huff of laughter as some of the tension in the air melted away. "Sorry about that. Not sure what came over me."

"Felix," James said simply, and Gabe stiffened, looking like he was going to apologise before James waved his hand. "Thing is, it wasn't a love potion. You didn't force me, you just tipped the scales in your favour. If I wasn't bent," he stumbled over the word but ploughed on regardless. "I would have told you to march your pretty arse back to Hufflepuff."

Gabe's heat beat quickened. "You wanted this, then?"

With great effort, James nodded.

"Want to test that theory then?"

"Huh?" the Gryffindor looked genuinely confused as Gabe stepped in front of him.

"The one that you're bent," he whispered, and closed the distance between them to capture James' lips, in an insistent kiss. When James made a noise in his throat and clutched at his jacket, Gabe made a mental note to thank Rose.

...Later.

- - -

Sunday mornings were the time that the Potter-Weasley clan of Hogwarts told the House tables to go take a running jump and sat together. The eight cousins would eat too much, gossip about the goings on at Hogwarts, and trade secrets about professors that might get them a few extra marks, or in the case of Hugo and Rose, a few less detentions.

This particular Sunday morning, though, all eyes were on James, who was carefully eating his eggs and ignoring the wide "I told you so" grin on Rose's face. The silence was starting to irritate him, though, and he couldn't help but groan when he looked up and even _Louis_ had that nosy bloody look on his face.

"Can't a bloke eat his breakfast in peace?" he muttered, pushing his eggs around with his fork.

"Not when he went on his first date with another bloke the previous day," Albus pointed out. A week had mellowed him, what with the realisation that it was prime "giving his brother hell" material – the fact that Rose had admitted to having a hand in it had helped, too.

"I didn't interrogate you after your first date," James grumbled and Rose snorted expressively.

"When has Albus [i]_ever[/i]_ had a date?" she asked, copping a piece of buttered toast to the side of the face for her question.

"I've had dates," Albus said defensively.

"Groping a girl behind Greenhouse Three doesn't count as a date," she shot back, sending the toast back to his hair.

"That was once!"

"A-HEM. We're forgetting the matter at hand," Lily pointed out, and James narrowed his eyes at her. He was enjoying the teasing of Albus, mainly for the fact that it had stopped the looks he was getting.

"I am not giving you the run down of my date with my twelve year old cousin at the table," James said grumpily.

"Go away, Lucy," Molly said simply.

"Make me," Lucy pouted. "I know what dates are."

"I have no real desire to give my extended family the run down of my date, for that matter," he mused.

"Tough," Louis spoke up. "Cough up, Potter."

"Louis!" James looked scandalised. "You're meant to be the sensible one, I was relying on you to back me up here."

"You forget who my father is, don't you?" Louis snorted. "And I'm studying for my NEWTs, I need a good laugh."

"Glad you think it was horrible," James snapped.

"So it went well, then?" Rose smirked. He rolled his eyes and flipped her the bird, but it didn't wipe the smirk on her face – in fact, if anything, it made her smirk wider.

"Yes, it went well. Yes, we'll probably be going on another one. Yes, I suppose that means I do like men more than I like women," James said, after a pause. He looked away from Rose, who he knew would accept it, to Lily, who gave him a smile, Lucy, who looked slightly confused but nodded, and the rest of his cousins, who seemed to be on the whole, rather accepting.

Now there was just the rather sticky question of his parents.

Lily nudged him under the table, reading the look on his face when he turned his eyes back to his place – as usual. "Mum and Dad will be fine, James," she said softly.

"Of course they will be, you daft git," Albus rolled his eyes and elbowed his brother. "If Uncle Ron dealt with Hugo being a Slytherin..."

"After breaking the vase Mum's parents gave them for the wedding," Hugo added cheerfully, his green robes a beacon among red and blue and Molly's yellow.

"Yes, thank you Hugo, we needed to think of my father breaking things," Albus said sarcastically. "Look, James, they'll be fine. And if Dad isn't, Mum will beat him about the head with a broomstick until he is."

James started to relax, and he nodded, before looking up for a chance to change the subject. "Oh, look, the mail's coming in," he said, pointing to the swarm of owls that had started to make their way into the Great Hall. He recognised Teddy's owl, black amongst the mainly tawny school and Prophet owls, and he frowned as it landed in front of him, nipping at his finger. Shaking his head, he fed it a piece of toast as he untied the letter.

_[i]James,_

_I was going to tell you, I'm so sorry. Please tell me you don't hate me._

_Teddy.[/i]_

His frown deepened as Rose choked on her pumpkin juice beside him. His eyes were drawn to the front of [i]_The Daily Prophet[/i]_, where the headline read "CHASERS KNOW HOW TO SCORE", and the black and white but very obviously Teddy Lupin pulled out of a kiss with another man, a look of horror on his face at the camera.


	5. Chapter 5

_It seems that Bagman wasn't the only one who the young reserve Beater made an impression on this weekend. Michael Anderson, second Chaser on the English team, met with the metamorphmagus at the club _Puzzles_ and the two seemed to hit it off. We found them in the alley next to the club, far more interested in each other than apparation..._

James grabbed the paper from Rose's hands and skimmed through the rest of the (admittedly short article), which went on to say Teddy's hair had turned from brown to red before he managed to get out of there. A few mentions of oddities due to a mix of magical blood – "Because half-werewolf metamorphmagi are the only ones who are gay," James felt the need to mutter – and some thinly veiled innuendoes about Beaters later, he glanced around the table at his family.

It was Hugo that broke the stunned silence – an achievement that would go down in history, the Potter-Weasley clan unable to respond – with a distinctly Slytherin-like smirk.

"Sorry, Jamie, I think you just got outdone."

"You know, I think I prefer my method," James cringed a little at the thought of his own photo being on the front of a national newspaper in that way. Around them, the volume of the chatter rose and they caught more than a few stray glances – though only a few would remember Teddy as a prefect (the ponce, he and Albus were proudly carrying on the tradition of Potters not being prefects), it wasn't like it was an unknown name. Teddy had been well known enough before becoming a national Quidditch player; now there wouldn't be a person in the Great Hall who didn't know Teddy Lupin's face.

"You should probably write him back, seeing as Google is about to devour the rest of your eggs and doesn't look like he's leaving any time soon," Rose pointed out.

"I still can't believe Teddy named his owl _Google_. I mean, really?" Albus pulled a face.

"He loves that barmy muggle shit," James said distractedly, shooing the black owl off his plate. He didn't actually want what remained of his eggs; it had another beak-ful before hooting disapprovingly at James and flying off. "He's got a washing machine and fridge and all that run off electricity, too, remember?"

"What did he say, anyway?" Lily asked, frowning. "That had to be sent to you and not us?"

"Oh. Um. That he was sorry for not telling us himself," he replied. He was grateful for the tap on his shoulder, in all truth, because he didn't want to deal with the quizzical look on Lily's face. "Oh! Morning, Gabe!"

Gabe gave a half-hearted smile, while Scorpius made kissy faces at Rose from behind him. The entirety of the table (including Rose) ignored Scorpius, as they were used to such inappropriate displays and had passed the desire to retch over it months ago, and instead focused on Gabe.

"Are you alright? With... y'know... this?" he asked after a moment, gesturing vaguely at the Prophet.

James blinked a few times. "Why wouldn't I be? It would be kind of hypocritical of me to be homophobic."

Gabe allowed himself a small smirk, to which the table responded in ways James tried to block out, including Al's splutter. "I suppose. I just thought... it's a bit odd, isn't it? Having your family over the news like this?"

"A little," James shrugged. "You just... Teddy knows that people are going to follow him around, he should know better. He probably got drunk and forgot himself. It's why Dad always takes us to Muggle holiday spots, and I've had the lovely experience of having a roadtrip through France with Al."

"Says the one who snores like a drunk sailor," Al tugged the front page of the Prophet off, screwed it into a ball and tossed it at James' head.

"Shut it, Al," James didn't bother glaring at his brother. "Anyway. Our family has had worse scandals before..."

"When Lily ran away from home," Rose chipped in, and Lily flushed red.

"When Hugo let out a Niffler in Gringotts," Lily added grumpily.

"That was amazing," Hugo grinned.

"Thank you, we needed a quick recap of embarrassing things my family has done in front of my new boyfriend," James rolled his eyes. "We'll deal with this one more than easily. Now, don't all of you lot have a Potions essay due?"

There was a collective groan and Scorpius turned his glare onto James. "Thanks, Potter, I was blissfully ignorant until you reminded me."

"Want to go for a fly, James?" Lily said happily, sticking her tongue out at Albus.

"Sounds good. Have fun in the library!" James grinned, but grabbed hold of Gabe's hand. "Come find me when you're done, yeah? Lil and I'll be down at the Quidditch pitch."

"Awww," Rose teased. As soon as Gabe had nodded in assent, James took his hand back to smack Rose over the head, and grabbed his younger sister's hand. "Let's go, dear Lils."

"Onwards, Prongs junior!" Lily declared, and for a moment, as they galloped from the Great Hall, they were kids once more.

- - -

James was surprised – he found himself falling for Gabe, more quickly than he could really comprehend. He found himself stealing kisses, pulling the Hufflepuff into empty classrooms, behind suits of armour, anywhere, really, where prying eyes couldn't see the surreptitious snogs. This wasn't, entirely, successful, as Gabe had these lips that, after a thorough snogging, were red and entirely too easy to continue kissing, and James, a holder of the famous Potter hair, looked like he had been snogged even before Gabe started running his hair through it. He was easy to talk to, and they were comfortable and rather – very – happy together. Rose, of course, teased him about it incessantly, because she had a long memory, and had caught them in the spots she and Scorpius liked to haunt more than once.

He couldn't quite believe, though, the words that came out of his mouth after they had been together for about two months. And, as it happened, apparently Gabe couldn't believe it, either, because he had rolled over from his spot on the warmed grass to stare at James.

"You want me to do _what_?"

James swallowed once. Twice. Tried a smile, which didn't fail too badly, because Gabe just kept staring at him like he'd grown a second head.

"I just thought you might want to come over during the holidays," he muttered, picking at the grass through his fingers.

"That's not what you said," Gabe raised an eyebrow and slid his fingers through James', stilling the fidgeting. "You want me to meet your parents."

It was a statement, not a question.

"Um. Maybe?" James risked a glance upwards, and Gabe's expression had relaxed – slightly – though he still didn't look entirely comfortable. "Do you want to?"

"The Potter-Weasley clan is a daunting prospect, James," Gabe pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "I've heard Scorp's horror stories."

James cringed. "My parents don't hate yours."

"True, but..." Gabe chewed at his lip and flopped back onto the grass. "I'm blaming you for any mental anguish that occurs and you're paying me back in sexual favours."

James let out a huff of laughter, the tension in the air immediately lessening. "Want to start a credit account?"

"Why Mr Potter, are you propositioning me by the Lake?" Gabe glanced up as James rolled on top of him, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Would you prefer me to throw you in it?"

Gabe's laughter could have been the best thing James heard, if the blonde hadn't slid his fingers though James' hair and pulled him down into a kiss to cut it short.

- - -

_Teddy,_

_Gabe'll be coming to visit during the Easter holidays. I'd appreciate it if you were there when we spoke to Mum and Dad, you know, since when I bring it up he looks like he's going to hyperventilate. Cannot wait for a break from Hogwarts, everyone – except Al and Rose – is getting wound up about exams and it isn't even bloody April yet. I miss your letters._

_James._

- - -

"I'm going to be killed," Gabe looked slightly green, sitting on James' bed, tearing at a piece of parchment in his hands. "Ginny Potter is going to take one look at me and throw me through the window."

"Reassuring, Gabe, thanks," James grumbled, smoothing down his shirt. Was it a nice enough shirt? Were the jeans okay? Who actually worried about their outfit when they were going to come out to their parents, anyway?

"They'll love you. You're the golden child. I'm the one in Albus' class who means he doesn't pay attention in Defence," Gabe muttered.

"No, that's himself. No amount of Galleons could make Al concentrate," James pointed out, and sat down heavily on the bed. "This will go fine. We'll be fine."

It was at that point that Gabe decided that kissing James was a better alternative than either of them speaking, and James, from his reaction, agreed with this sentiment. Teddy, however, who chose that moment to push open James' door without knocking – as he had done for the past seventeen years – did not seem so pleased.

"Oh, fuck, sorry," Teddy sighed, but knew he couldn't leave. "Look, I'll leave you two be, but Ginny asked me to tell you dinner's ready in five."

"No, Teddy, stay," James said immediately, trying – and failing miserably – not to redden under Teddy's gaze. "I guess that's one way of introducing you. Gabe, this is Teddy. Teddy, Gabe."

"Hey," Gabe glanced up at Teddy's bright blue hair for a moment, but returned his gaze to James, grabbing hold of his hand. James looked slightly confused – not unhappy, but confused – but squeezed Gabe's hand, looking at Teddy expectantly.

"Nice to meet you. If you ever try and pull the shit Rachel did on James, I'll hang you by your bollocks from the Astronomy Tower," Teddy said pleasantly.

"Teddy!" James hissed, but Gabe raised his chin defiantly.

"James knows exactly where we stand, what we both want from this, and I would never hurt him," he said evenly, his eyes flashing.

"Good to know. You're planning on telling them tonight, then?"

"Yeah," James exhaled slowly. "Yeah, we are."

Teddy shrugged, though the 'we' stung more than his pride would ever allow him to admit. "They didn't take my national coming out too badly. You'll be fine," he smiled. "They love you, James. And they'll love Gabe, too."

There was silence, and none of them quite knew what to say. After a long moment, Teddy raked a hand through his hair and gave a shrug.

"I better go before Ginny gets suspicious," he muttered. "You'll be fine. Don't stress out."

- - -

"...You're what?" Ginny's fork clattered to the plate, and Lily and Albus tried to hide their smiles between their hands. They failed, though, and Harry raised an eyebrow at them until they looked suitably mollified.

Teddy cringed. Trust James to put it as un-eloquently as possible.

"He's gay," Lily said helpfully, which made Teddy's cringe even more. "He and Gabe – ow!"

She glared at Teddy, who didn't look at all sorry.

"I was more concerned as to where James heard the phrase 'as bent as a tin foil sickle'," Harry said mildly. "Pass the gravy, Ginny?"

"Probably from Teddy – ow! Bugger, Teddy, you should have grown out of that by now!" Al joined his sister glaring at Teddy.

"Swear jar, Al," Lily said immediately.

"Sod off," Al scowled, and James swallowed, looking at his mother, who was yet to pick up her fork.

"This is nothing to do with Teddy, mum," James said softly. "This is just... me. I'm not trying to... follow him, or anything."

"They've been dating since – Gabe! Don't join in!" Lily yelped.

"I... well. I suppose," Ginny swallowed and picked up her fork, pushing her peas around the plate. After a long moment, there was another clatter and she pointed her knife at Gabe. "You're getting yourself a separate room while you're staying here, young man."

"Ginny, you're not forty yet. Don't use the phrase 'young man'," Harry sighed, and patted his wife's hand. "We're fine with it. Your mother is just a Weasley, and therefore has issues when sex comes up."

There was a collective cringe, but the tension was lessened as Ginny glared daggers at Harry. Gabe slid his hand under the table to stroke James' fingers, and Teddy pretended the grateful smile James shot him didn't make him ache, just a little.


End file.
